I’m a tax lawyer based in San Francisco (www.WoodLLP.com), but I handle tax matters everywhere. I enjoy untangling a tax mess from the past, disputing taxes with the government or planning taxes for the future. One of my specialties is advising about lawsuit payments. Whether you’re receiving or paying a legal settlement, you can probably improve your tax position. I write frequently about taxes, from expatriation to sales tax, from selling your company to restitution. I’ve written over 30 tax books, but my best seller is still Taxation of Damage Awards and Settlement Payments. Contact me at wood@WoodLLP.com.

The U.S. government’s budget deficit is expected to swell to $1.17 trillion in the 2012 fiscal year. People cry out for change, but how? Without a comprehensive overhaul in 25 years, the tax code is riddled with deductions, exemptions and rules layering complexity and special interests one atop the other. Even Harvard Business School alums think we’re practically third world in taxes. See Politics, Tax Code Said to Stymie U.S.

In 1969, the AMT was intended to make sure the wealthy paid a minimum level of tax. Since then, the AMT has grown into the most insidious and counterintuitive tax there is. See Will Everyone Pay AMT Next Year? The AMT has grown to cover almost everything. You compute regular tax and AMT, and if the AMT is higher, you must pay it.

Given the ingredients that go into the AMT, you can’t eyeball it. You must compute your tax both ways to tell. Even IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman practically begged Congress to fix it. Congress only slapped on a two-year patch for 2010 and 2011.

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